The Angels Have Landed

Here in southern Utah we had a gorgeous weekend with the sun warming us and not a cloud in the sky. So we gathered a group up and headed to Zion Nat'l. Park to hike Angel's Landing - 5 miles round trip, 1488' elevation gain. We didn't do the last 1/2 mile because it was snowy/icy and you had to grab onto chains most of the way...normally a 15 min. jaunt was taking people more than an hour. We still enjoyed a beautiful view and fresh air. Sadly, George couldn't join us because he was on call :(

Kyson's style was to sprint for a while and then collapse on the ground to catch his breath.

I was so impressed that both Kyson and Kaden walked/ran the whole way! On the way down I filled Kaden's pockets with goldfish and every time he felt like he needed someone to carry him, he would eat a gold fish and that would give him the energy he needed to keep going...such a trooper.

The angel herself, Sadie! She loves being outside.

Near the bottom, deer were right next to the trail.

Just outside the park there is a little cafe that serves bumbleberry pie. What are bumbleberries?? I'd never heard of it, but supposedly it's famous and delicious, so we stopped to try it. And just our luck, the baker was out of town so they weren't serving it. Has anyone ever tried it? That didn't damper our day of fun though. It was WONDERFUL to be outside and enjoy the beautiful creations that surround us.

Ice Cream Substitute?

No really, it's that good! With the new year, of course, comes new goals...to get into shape and eat healthier, right? That means I'm "choosing" not to eat my normal half gallon of ice cream each night. So my seester, Sara, created a wonderful dessert concoction. It's super simple and simply delightful! Just throw the following ingredients into a bowl and viola!

• Plain Yogurt
• Frozen and/or Fresh Blueberries (or any berry really)
• Roasted Almonds
• Mini Chocolate Chips
  

Christmas Corner

There is so much to blog about I'm not sure where to begin. Just to warn you I'm just going to make it all one post...it might get long. I hope everyone had a wonderful break celebrating Christmas and the New Year. Can you believe it's 2009?? That means I graduated from high school 9 years ago, GG!

I've never really decorated for Christmas on my own, so that was a fun treat this year. We had George's wreath, a tiny little Christmas tree with my home-made stockings hanging above (I don't like them...my sewing skills are lacking BIG time!), and a few other things around our lil basement apartment. See the snowman sitting on the vase? Kaden was helping me decorate and he said, "I don't know about that...Frosty's going potty!" Haha!!


Both George's and my family always had the tradition of opening Christmas presents on Christmas morning. But we were like little kids...we stayed up late on Christmas Eve and as we were getting in to bed around 1 a.m. we decided since it was technically Christmas morning we should open our gifts :) It was fun and then we got to sleep in the next morning, woo! In the (later) morning we joined Sara & Joe and watched their kids open presents. The hot item was the wiggle bike...you wiggle and it moves?? Kinda cool because big people even fit on it.



Later Christmas afternoon George and I headed to Vegas to spend the night before we had a flight to catch to Cali the next morning. We spent the rest of our break in Crescent City, California. CC is just about as far north as you can go before you reach Oregon and is right on the coast; home to the coastal redwoods. We were a little worried after being there for 3 straight days of rain, but finally the heavens cleared and we had a couple blissfully sunny days. We spent them riding bikes, flying kites, hiking, skim-boarding (sort-of) and just enjoying the ocean. The rainy days were actually quite relaxing too. We put together puzzles, watched movies, and ate Umpqua chocolate-peanut butter ice cream :)

George "skim-boarding"

Wait a minute, that's not a skim-board, it's just a piece of plywood we found on the beach, haha!

We drove back...which takes quite a bit of time, around 17 hours. We made it to Salt Lake City just in time to bring in the New Year with Steve, Aly, and Ben and a fabulous fondue fiesta! It was so yummy, thank you!


I don't like living so far from my friends...Aly's baby, Ben, has grown up so much since last time I've seen him. He was full of smiles for his Fraunt and Fruncle :) What an adorable little boy...I love his big curious eyes.


Later on that night we also got to meet up with Lisa and Eric to celebrate her pre-birthday and bring in the New Year by going downtown to First Night. It was a fun night!

It was a wonderful trip and it is great to be back home. I feel like I'm becoming more of a home-body as I get older. I suppose that is good? Or maybe lame? Either way life is great and I feel very blessed. I hope it is a great 2009 for all!!